Latching mechanism



E. A. HOBERG ETAL LATCHING MECHANISM Sept. 2, 1947.

Filed Jan. '7, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOS l7.7. l Y

ATTORNEY i BYR Patented Sept. 2, 1947 LATCHING MECHANISM Edgar A. Hoberg and Ralston T. Moore, Portland,

Oreg., assignors to Grand Metal Products Corporation, Oregon Portland, Oreg., a corporation of' Application January 7, 1946, Serial No. 639,531

6 Claims.

The present inventionf relates to latchlng constructions, and more particularly to a mechanism for latching or locking to each other a pair of closure members such as the door and jamb elements of cabinet structures of the type exemplified by generally conventional metal lockers.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a latching mechanism of the class indicated which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to make, durable in use and which will provide a number of novel operating advantages.

A more specific object of the invention is to facilitate the latching of a locker door by elimmating much of the force required in previous constructions to overcome the action of springs or lift comparatively heavy latching members and mechanism connected to them.

Another object is to provide a latch structure which can be pre-locked, i. e., one in which a door lock can be set in locked position with the door open, so that the door will be locked. closed upon its being simply moved to closed position, without requiring the operator to have or use a key to the lock.

A- further object is to eliminate entirely the use of springs to operate the members of the latching couple, and to arrange these members to be operated effectively and uniailingly by gravity alone.

A still further object is to provide a door latching mechanism which is so combined with a handle for opening the door that the door is unlatched and swung to open position by a single simple operation consisting of exerting a natural pull on the handle, thus eliminating the necessity of pulling on the door opening handle and simultaneously or successively operating a separate latch control.

An additional object is to provide a mechanism-having the foregoing and other advantages which will be fully encased in the cabinet or locker structure and which will present a neat andA trim appearance, with nothing projecting from the exterior surface of the structure except the single handle which combines the unlatching and door opening functions.

Other. objects and advantages are contemplated, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following specification which, taken in combination with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment of the invention which has been tested in actual practice and found to give satisfactory and reliable results.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a metal locker or cabinet embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail front elevational View on a relatively enlarged scale, partly broken away, showing the structure in and immediately about the handle area;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View of the handle area, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4' is a horizontal cross sectional view of the handle area taken on the line dof Fig. 2;.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View through a portion. of the door stile taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical' sectional view of the rear oi the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4,

i taken on the line' 6 6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a detail vertical sectional view of the lower part of the closure member construction, taken on the line 'l-T of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the internal mechanism at the region of the operating handle; `and Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the latch keepers.

In these drawings the invention is shown, by way of exemplic'ation, embodied in a metal locker or cabinet' of generally familiar form includinga door l hinged at one side to a body 2, both made of sheet steel paneling and provided respectively with rebent edge portions forming a door stile 3 anda bodyv stile 4. It isk these elements 3 and which in the illustrated embodiment of the invention constitute the closure members, that are to be latched by the structure which forms the subject matter of this application for Letters Patent.

Latching is accomplished by the cooperation of keepers 5 secured at a plurality or" points to the body stile and an equal number of latch members 6, one for each keeper, movably mounted within the door stile. For simplicity and clarity of illustration, most ofthe figures of the drawings show theV details of only one keeper and one latch member, both located near the centerof elevation of the locker, but in the complete structure at least tWo pairs of keepers and latch members should be used, one near the top and one near the bottom of the cabinet, and it is better still to include also a third pair, midway between the two end` ones, all as indicated at 6, 6, 6 in Fig'. 1.

Each keeper may be made as best shown in Fig., 9 in. the4 form of asmall U-shaped catch having a leg 'l welded inside the body stile 4 3 and a leg 8 projecting forwardly into the door opening so as to stand in the path of the closing door stile 3. This latter stile is formed with an opening 9 (Figs. 4 and 5) for admitting the leg 8 as the door approaches fully closed position.- 'I'he leg 8 has its upper forward corner beveled on to provide a sort of cam surface Ill, behind which the upper surface of the leg is abruptly notched as shown at II, so that theV notch provides a shoulder at the rear of the cam surface.

Each of the latch members 61 is a U-shaped body such as a length of channel iron. These have registering slots I2 formed in their opposite legs receiving pins I3 Xed through the legs of a latch member lifting bar I4 which is a length of channel iron embracing several latch members, long enough to extend from above the topmost of them to below the lowermost f them, and mounted for vertical sliding movement within the door stile 3. As best appears in Fig. 5, the lifting bar I4 is provided with an opening 9a adjacent to but extending somewhat below each opening 9 in the door stile 3 when the lifting bar is in lowered position, to pass the leg 8 of the adjacent keeper 5.

Each latch member 6 normally hangs by gravity as low on the bar I4 as is permitted by the pin and slot connection I2, i3. That is to say, the pin is normally seated in the top of the slot, and the parts are so proportioned and arranged that in this position of the latch member the lower edge of its leg connecting portion or base will be at or just slightly above the level of the bottom of the notch I I in the keeper 5 and slightly above the level of the bottom of the cam surface IB. Hence, when the door is moved to closed position the latch member slides up the surface Ill, with its slot I2 rising about the pin I3, until the notch II is reached, which is `at precisely the fully closed position of the door. Then the latch member drops down into the notch II, with the slot I2 falling about the pin I3, until dropping of the latch member is stopped by engagement of the pin I3 in the top of the slot I2 and/or seating of the latch member base in the bottom of the notch II, as shown in Fig. 5. It will be observed that the only elements which move in the latching operation are the latch members 6, which may be made quite small and light, and that their movement is confined to rising and falling through the very short distance equal to the rise of the cam surface I0 or the depth of the notch II in each keeper 5, which distance may be of the order of a half inch or less. In this way the number of moving parts is kept at a minimum, as is also the force required to close the door to latched position.

In this position of the parts, shown in Figs. 2, 5, 6 and 8, the door is latched closed and cannot be unlatched without elevating each of the latch members out of the notch in its keeper.

This unlatching operation is accomplished by raising the latch member lifting bar I4. It will be evident, particularly from Figs. 5 and 8, that such raising will, immediately from its beginning, pull the pins I3 up against the tops of the slots I2 and lift the latch members up out of the notches in the keepers. The door is then unlatched and free to be swung open on its hinges.

The preferred mechanism for effecting this raising of the bar I4 will now be described.

At some convenient elevation, say at about the level of the waist of a person of average height, the door is provided with a handle I5. This handle is in effect a lever, or it has lever action, and it is linked directly or indirectly to the bar I4 for raising it. In the preferred embodiment it is made in the form of a bail of relatively heavy gauge sheet metal curved to admit the four fingers of a persons hand and penetrating vertically spaced upper and lower openings I6 and I'I in the door I near its stile 3. The handle is intended to rock in and out of the opening Il, but not to be withdrawn completely through it. It is pivoted, or a lever extension I8 which is welded to its upper end is pivoted, at I9 to a fulcrum bracket 20 which is a short length of channel iron embracing the sides of the extension I8 and having its bight or base welded to a mounting plate 2| which in turn is welded to the rear face of the door paneling adjacent to the door stile 3. The lower end of the curved handle I5 passes through a slot formed in this mounting plate in register with the slot II inthe door paneling and is terminally upset at 22 to form a stop for striking against the the plate 2I and for abutting a back housing plate 23 in order to limit the range or movement of the handle, as best appears in Fig. 3. Flanges formed on the four edges of the housing plate 23 give it the shape of a generally rectangular tray and are secured by screws or by welding to the door stile 3 and to corresponding flanges formed on the top, bottom and inner side of the mounting plate 2I, as appears in Figs. 3 and 4.

The lower opening II is narrow in its vertical dimension, since the handle portion which moves through this opening has no up and down movement relatively to it, being formed as the arc of a circle having the pivot I9 as its center. The upper opening I6 is made in the form of a vertically elongated slot, since here the handle portion, or its lever extension I8, moves up and down in the opening. In order to mask this upper opening and thus improve the appearance of the construction, the handle is best curved upwardly in front of the opening and then downwardly through its intermediate or bail portion, as shown in Fig. 3.

It will be evident from the foregoing that the handle l5 normally rests by gravity in the full line position of Fig. 3, with the stop- 22 bearing against the housing plate 23, and that it can be manually pulled out to the dotted line position until the stop 22 meets the mounting plate 2 I. In this movement the handle swings about the pivot I9 as a center, lifting the lever extension I8. It is this movement of the lever extension which is employed to lift the latch elements 6 out of engagement with their keepers 5, by mechanism which will now be described.

The lever extension I8 passes through an opening in a second lever 24 which lies generally parallel to the mounting plate 2I and has its inner end pivoted at 25 to the mounting plate and its other end projecting into the door stile 3 through a notch 25 in its adjacent side wall and into the lifting bar I4 through a notch 2'I cut into the adjacent flange of that bar, as best appears in Figs. 4 and 8.

It will be evident that this linkage causes the lifting bar I4 to be raised in response to pulling the handle I5 outwardly, and that the weight, of the bar will act through the levers 24 and I8 to keep the handle I5 normally in its closed or inner position shown in full lines in Fig. 3. This is true whether the door is open or closed, and Whether or not the latching members 6 are engaged with their keepers 5. Hence at all times, except when But this rising movement of Lthe notches I`I latching members causes n raising of `t'l'ielifting bar I,si n`ce themoftion is lost in the slot and pin connection I2, I3. Hencethe door can be latched with no more closing effort than is required to lift the relatively small `weight ofv the latching members, andi'n this movement Vto'latclfied posiy tion the handle I is not moved. This is an important feature of the invention because it m-akes the door an extremely easily closing one, and more especially becausel it enables the occupant of the locker to lock the handle AI5 in closed position vfull Vlines in Fig. 3) with the door open 'and then krely on the door becoming locked lin response to nothing more than movement of the door to closed position. Hence, the person who locks the door need not be entrusted with any key to such lock as may be used.

In order to lock the latch closed, it is necessary only to x the handle I5 against outward movement. This is conveniently accomplished by mounting a bracket element 28, made of material like that of the handle I5, against the inner face of the plate 2i with a portion of this bracket extending out through the opening Il in substantial engagement with, and conforming to the curvature of, the lower portion of the handle I5. Holes 29 and 3e are formed in the bracket 28 and the handle I5 in such positions that they register when the handle is in its closed position, so that a padlock 3i, shown in Fig. 1, can be passed through these holes and locked.

The shape and mounting of the handle I5 are considered important. The palm or the four ngers of the hand of the operator are easily passed through the loop in the handle, and a simple pull is al1 that is necessary to unlatch the door and swing it open, Such pull is a perfectly natural movement of precisely the kind that one would expect to employ to open an unlatched door, or one not provided with a latch. Indeed, the effect in unlatching and opening a latched door provided with the present invention is exactly the same as opening a door that is not latched.

It is convenient to provide cushion bumpers in the form of rubber buttons 32 in that ange of the body stile il against which the door stile 3 closes, so as to silence the closing operation. A similar bumper 33 may be provided on a horizontal flange struck out from the bottom of the latch member lifting bar I4, as shown in Fig. 7, to cushion the impact of this bar when it drops against the inturned edge of the door stile 3.

It is believed to be evident from the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment that the invention accomplishes the objects hereinabove set forth and provides an inexpensive and simple door latching construction having numerous advantages. It is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other and further modifled forms, all within the spirit of the inventive principles as defined by the appended claims. It is also to be understood that not all of the novel and inventive features of the structure need be combined in any single embodiment, since many of these features are capable of being employed to advantage independently of others.

We Claim: i

1. `In a'l'atchconstru'ction for 'apair of closure members, akeepersecuredto'one of `said members, a 'lifting banmounted for vertical sliding movement between upp'erand lower limits on'th'e `other member, means forehgaging the keeper in latched relation Awhe'nohe closure is closed on the'othercompris'ihg a latch member, and means `'conilecting the latch -member to the bar comprising a pin fixed n the bar and engaged through aslot formedin the latch member vso that the latch member is capable of being moved'u'pwardly oi thebar'independehtlyof upward movevrment of theb'ar'and'is constrained to move up- 1w'ardly'fwith'the bar when the bar is'raised from 'its lower to its flipper limit.

2.l In -Ya'latch construction fora pair of closure members, 'a keeper secured to one of said meinbers, a `lifting bar mounted for verticalls'liding movement between upper and vlower limits on the other member, a latch member adapted to be engaged and moved upwardly by said keeper as the closure members are moved relatively to each other toward closed relation and to drop into latched engagement with the keeper as the closure members reach closed relation, and means connecting the latch member to the lifting bar comprising a pin xed on the bar and engaged through a slot formed in the latch member so th-at the latch member is capable of being moved upwardly of the bar independently of upward movement of the bar and is constrained to move upwardly with the bar when the bar is raised from its lower to its upper limit.

3. In a latch construction for a pair of closure members, a keeper projecting in xed relation fromr one of said members having an upwardly inclined front surface and a shoulder extending downwardly from the rear of said surface, a lifting bar mounted for vertical sliding movement between upper and lower limits on the other member, a latch member having a lower edge adapted to be engaged and raised by said inclined surface as the closure members are moved relatively to each other toward closedrelation and to drop behind said shoulder, thereby latching the keeper, as the closure members reach closed relation, and means connecting the latch member to the lifting bar comprising a pin xed on the bar and engaged through a slot formed in the latch member so that the latch member is capable of being moved upwardly of the bar independently of upward movement of the bar and is constrained .fto move upwardly with the bar when the bar is raised from its lower to its upper limit.

4. In a latch construction for a pair of closure members, a latch keeper projecting in Xed relation from one of said members having an upwardly inclined front surface and a shoulder eX- tending downwardly from the rear of said surface, a channel shaped lifting bar mounted for vertical sliding movement between Iupper and lower limits on the other member and having a slot in its base adapted to be penetrated by said inclined Iand shouldered portion of the keeper as the closure members are moved relatively to each other toward closed relation, a channel shaped latch member nested in the lifting bar adjacent to said slot, and means connecting the latch member to the lifting bar comprising a pin xed through the two flanges of the bar and engaged through a slot formed in the two anges of the latch mem-ber so that the latch member will be moved upwardly with relation to the bar when its channel base is engaged by the penetrating portion of the keeper and will drop behind said shoulder and so that the latch member will rise from behind said shoulder when the bar is lifted.

5. In a latch construction for a pair of closure members, mechanism adapted to make latching engagement with a keeper xed on one of the members, said mechanism comprising a channel shaped lifting bar mounted for vertical sliding movement on the other member and a latch member of channel shape nested in the bar and connected thereto by a pin fixed through the flanges of the bar passing through a, slot formed in each of the flanges of the latch member.

6. In a latch construction for a door member and a jamb member, a vertical stile formed on each of said members, the door stile being hollow, a lifting bar contained in the door stile, a latch member mounted on the lifting bar, a keeper projecting from the jamb stile and adapted to penetrate through registering slots in the door stile and lifting bar to engage the latch member when the door member is closed against :the j amb member, means for effecting latching connection of a latch member with the keeper comprising a lpin fixed on the bar passing through a slot formed in the latch member whereby the latch member may rise and fall on the bar when engaged by the keeper, and means for lifting the bar to raise the latch member from latching engagement with the keeper.

EDGAR A. HOBERG.

RALSTON T. MOORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

K UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,033,806 Baker et al. Mar. 10, 1936 2,071,732 Crilly Feb. 23, 193'? 2,207,569 Wild July 9, 1940 

